Comfort
by Xx.BiteMeh.xX
Summary: A series of short one-shots in which MK and Nod find comfort in each other. Set during/after the movie., maybe AU. NodxMK
1. Grief

**Oh hey guys.**

**Long time no speak ;)**

**If you're following me, I just want to say I'm glad you and I now share more than one fandom interest xD**

**Okie.**

**Anyways.**

**I love Epic. So I've decided to write some short one-shots for the movie. (Key word is SHORT)**

**So enjoy!**

**-BM**

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"You think he's okay?" MK asked warily as she approached Nod and his bird, looking up at him and seeing a goofy grin spread across his handsome face.

"Yeah, he'll be fine!" he replied enthusiastically, clasping his hand around MK's and pulling her up behind him onto the bird. "Their heads are like rocks – well, smart rocks." Nod cringed as they took off, preparing himself for a snarky retort from the auburn haired girl behind him. Instead, MK just wrapped her arms around his torso, silently turning her head to the side as she watched the ground grow farther and farther away. She sighed heavily.

Nod frowned. Something was definitely wrong if MK wasn't replying to his rather insesnsitave remark. "Hey, you alright?" he asked.

MK sighed again and his question was answered with silence.

"MK." Nod turned his head slightly to look at her over his shoulder and saw that her eyebrows were furrowed with concern, her mouth tight and her face pale with agitation. "MK," he repeated.

"I miss my dad," she whispered, bowing her head in embarrassment to hide her face from Nod. She didn't him to see how devastated she was.

Nod turned to look back in front of him. "I'm sure he's fine," he offered reassuringly.

"It's not that, Nod," she replied quietly.

"Then what is it?"

"It's just-he's my dad, you know?" she started. "And I'm trying _so _hard to think of a time I didn't hate him these past couple years." She took a breath, urging herself not to cry. "My mom and I moved away from here when I was 9 and I haven't seen him since."

Nod felt MK's arms tighten around his chest. "So why now?" he asked.

He knew he said something wrong the instant MK started crying.

She pulled her arms away from Nod and furiously began rub her hands over her eyes, willing herself to stop. But the salty tears kept running and she let out a sob. "It-it was something my mom wanted," she choked out. "She wanted me to live with him… to-to be his daughter again." She laughed dryly. "To be 'his little princess' again."

Nod kept silent.

"You know, before my parents divorced my room was pink – like a princess' room." She felt another wave of moisture form in her eyes and she tasted salt in her mouth as they flowed. "It's still like that…" She took a breath. Quietly, she added, "I-I guess I'm just upset over the fact that I've been such a jerk to him and now… now I'm scared I'll never talk to him again."

Nod pursed his lips, heart swelling with sadness as he thought of his own father and the grief him and the girl shared.

"Hey," he said softly. He released his grip on the bird's reins (miraculously managing to balance quite well) and reached behind him, finding MK's hands and pulling them around his torso. He gave them one last squeeze before returning his own hands to the reins. "Put your arms around me."

MK nodded, even though she knew he couldn't tell from being in front of her. She tightened her grip on him and leaned forward, burying her face into his back and taking in his scent. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the tears coming as she silently sobbed into him.

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**If you liked it, review, follow, and favourite! **

**Ew this was so short... Imma try and write the other ones longer.**

**Okie bye!**

**-BM**


	2. Parting

**This chapter's a bit longer ;)**

**So this is kind of AU and Nod and MK are OCC here, but honestly I kind of assumed something major had happened between them after the scene where they shook hands and before the scene Nod took off for battle, because based on the relationship they grew in the movie, I didn't think Nod would have lightly said, "Hey! You're still here!" when he saw MK after the pod bloomed if not for some type of farewell prior to that.**

**This is also my take on why Nod was looking so frantically for MK when he and Ronin were approaching the pod.**

**So yeah! Enjoy and prepare for some MAJOR fluff! And thanks for the favorite and the follow!**

**-BM**

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"Nod-"

"Oh hey MK! It's nice to see you and I would _love _to have some chitchat with you sometime other than, oh, say _now _when the Boggans are attacking-"

"_Nod_! Are you going with them?" MK interrupted fiercely, grabbing Nod's bicep and turning him to look at her as she gestured to crowds of Leafmen running hurriedly around them to prepare for war.

"The Leafmen? Oh yeah," he said loosely and cheerfully, prying his arm away from MK's grip. He jabbed a thumb at himself proudly. "I'm one of them… sorta." He whipped around, following the crowd again.

MK frowned and grabbed ahold of his arm again. "You _quit_ remember?" she hissed.

Nod stopped struggling against her grip and turned to narrow his eyes at her. "Yeah. So?"

MK blinked, shocked at his cold response. She shook her head. "You can't just _go_," she growled. She released Nod and crossed her arms.

Nod frowned. What was her problem? "Well I can't just sit here, can I?"

"Yes you can."

"_No_ I can't. And you know it," he replied hastily. "You don't want to be here either."

MK glared back. "Yeah, but I can't do anything about it, can I? I'm not a Leafman, I wasn't trained to be one, and neither are _you _anymore."

"MK, we don't have _time_ for this-"

"Can you just stay with me?" she said bluntly and desperately, giving up on appearing like a strong, defiant girl. "Please? Stay with me here?"

Nod stared at her, surprised at her sudden change of persona. His eyes softened as he gently squeezed her shoulder. "You know I can't," he said quietly. "I can't-I can't just _not do _anything about this. I owe it to Ronin." He ran his hand through his hair. "Ronin would have wanted me to go out there and fight. You know that MK. I can't just… fail him."

A wave of sadness swept over MK and she slumped her shoulders. "I'm scared, " she whispered. "What if you get hurt?"

"Aw, MK, don't do this to me-"

"What if," she interrupted rather loudly, "what if I'm left just like Ronin was with Tara; with nothing but moss? What if I don't even get to be there when you die?" A fat, shiny tear rolled down her cheek as she stepped forward and closer to Nod. She looked up at him, placing her left hand on his cheek and stuffing her other one in her hoodie pocket. "What if you never come back?" she asked, her voice cracking with grief.

Nod wrapped his hand around MK's left one and pressed it harder against his cheek. "I promise you, MK," he whispered, "that I _will _come back. I'll be searching for your face among everyone else and when I find you we'll watch the pod bloom together, alright?"

MK choked out an okay, nodding vigorously. She leaned forward and pressed her face against Nod's hard shoulder as he pulled her against him in a fierce and tight embrace.

MK wrapped her arms tightly around Nod's shoulders and took deep breaths into his shoulder, feeling her heart pound heavily in her chest as her stomach did flip-flops. She wanted to hold Nod tighter than she already was, but that would be impossible. She wanted to run her fingers through his messy, thick brown hair and kiss him senseless. Her feelings for Nod were going off the radar and she _loved _it.

She felt Nod press his cheek against the top side of her head and she grinned to herself, nuzzling his shoulder with her face. "Nod?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah?" he responded, holding onto her waist as tight as ever.

"I'm happy I became small."

Nod gave a heartfelt laugh, his chest rumbling against hers'. "I'm happy you became small too," he replied affectionately.

"Hey Nod! You can sort out your love life later; there's a war going on!" someone remarked humorously as Nod felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Got it," Nod replied as he reluctantly pulled away from MK, hands still resting against her waist and her hands still latched around his neck. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against MK's. "I gotta go now," he said.

MK stared up at him and smiled sadly, her face going red as she realized the number inches that were keeping them from kissing were very few.

"Yeah," she whispered quietly and solemnly. "Be careful. Please."

Nod grinned as he gently squeezed her hips. "Okay… mom."

MK gave a dry laugh and leaned forward to peck Nod on the cheek, blushing as she did so.

Nod chuckled and leaned forward to return the favor, pressing his lips lovingly to the crown of MK's head.

And the pair stood there, MK's hands looped around Nod's neck with her eyes closed as she embraced the moment, and Nod's hands on MK's hips with his lips against her forehead as the chaos around them seemed to silence just for them.

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**So nobody's reviewed and not a lot of people have followed/favorited that makes me sad because I won't continue without support :( so please read, review, follow and favorite!**

**-BM**


	3. Aftermath

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! So here's long one-shot for you all! It's kind of AU though...**

**Whatever XD**

**-BM**

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She stumbled into the room, taking in the crowds of Jinn and exhausted Leafmen chattering happily with each other. She grinned to herself as she made her way towards the stone table the blossomed pod was sitting on.

"Hey! Hey MK!" a young voice called excitedly and MK turned, seeing a young flower Jinn grinning up at her in a flowing white gown.

"Hi there!" MK said cheerfully, kneeling down in front of the flower child and smiling happily at her.

The daisy blushed, fingering her silky dress. "I'm Vaeda," she said, giving MK a shy smile. "Tara chose me to be the new Queen!"

MK grinned. She'd known that, but decided to entertain the young girl. "Wow! Really?"

"Yup!"

"Well she made a good choice, didn't she?" MK teased and poked Vaeda lightly on the shoulder.

Vaeda giggled, "I guess," she said, and then flushed. "I mean- not that I think so- I don't…"

MK just laughed, standing up. "Well, I'm glad she chose you. Can't think of anyone better for the job!"

Vaeda looked up at her curiously. "What about you?" she asked innocently.

MK raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"

"You could be the new queen! She could've chosen you!"

"Oh." MK stiffened. "Well, I have to get back home," she said and was surprised at the sad tone in her voice. Didn't she want to go home? Wasn't that what she looked forward too?

Vaeda's face fell with disappointment. "Oh, okay." She looked down at her feet. "I kind of wanted you to stay. Everyone loves you."

"Yeah well…" MK trailed off. "I better get going." She gave Vaeda a small smile and a wave as she turned back to where she was originally headed. There, slumped over against the stone table, was a bruised and battered Ronin talking to an equally exhausted-looking Nod. They looked deep in conversation, eyes brimming with bittersweet emotions. As MK drew closer, she could hear their conversation.

"… yourself up! Lately you've shown some real promise!" came Nod's cheerful voice and MK gave a scoff.

She walked up to them, placing a hand on her hip and rolling her eyes. "Oh please. Just say you love each other," she said dryly and humorously.

Nod's head turned towards her and his eyes lit up as he saw her, his lips forming a surprised yet happy smile.

"I thought we just did," Ronin joked.

Nod rose to his feet and looked at her, astonished. "Hey, you're still here!" he said. There was an awkward atmosphere between them as they both thought back to their farewell earlier, thinking that they would never see each other again.

"Yeah," MK replied sadly, looking down at her feet. "I guess… I missed my chance…"

Nod looked at her with an optimistic smile. "Oh," he said, "I'm sorry." Then he grinned wider, reaching out for her hand as he added, "But not completely sorry."

MK took it, then turned to look up at him. "I'm not sorry," she laughed. "I think I want to stay, actually."

She watched as Nod's smile disappeared into a look of shock and she fidgeted slightly, afraid he didn't want her here.

The feeling of fear quickly ebbed away as she saw Nod grin again. Did the boy ever stop smiling?

"Really?" he breathed.

MK subconsciously brushed her fingers through her bangs, pulling them away from her eyes even thought they just fell right back. "Yeah," she replied nervously, still not completely sure herself if it was the right choice. But… she had missed her chance already right? There was no point in hoping to go back to her normal size if she couldn't anyways. And besides, she _did _love being here. "Yeah," she repeated more firmly, giving Nod a more confident smile as she stepped towards him. "I want to stay here."

Nod laughed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her into him in excitement and she instinctively felt her arms coil around his waist as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder. He gave her a squeeze before pulling back and staring at her. "I'm… I'm glad."

MK gave a small laugh. "So am I," she replied gleefully. Her eyes roamed her face, his high cheekbones and his freckled face. Then, she frowned. Reaching up she touched one of the bruises on his swelling cheek and he winced, flinching away from her touch. "You look terrible," she stated.

Nod looked offended. "What? You mean I'm ugly?"

MK grinned. "Very," she joked.

Nod just smiled. "Did you see Ronin? He looks like a rat ate him and pooped him right back out!"

MK's face scrunched up at the image. "That's gross," she muttered.

Nod shrugged. "He looks like it."

MK peered over Nod's shoulder to search for the older Leafman and found that he was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd he go?" she asked.

Nod turned around. "Probably went to the infirmary, clean himself up." He leaned back against the stone table with the pod and closed his eyes, blowing out a puff of air that made the brown locks framing his face float up and back down. "Whoo! I'm pooped," he stated tiredly.

"Maybe we should get you back to your house-or wherever you live," MK suggested worriedly.

Nod stood, looking at her incredulously. "What's a house?" he asked bluntly.

MK giggled at his ignorance. "It's what us Stompers call the place we stay in. You know, with a bed, a kitchen, stuff like that."

"Oh, you mean Hollows."

"What?"

"We live in the small hollows of trees," Nod said matter-a-factedly **(lol not a real word) **

MK stared up at him. "Like… squirrels and birds?"

Nod laughed harder. "MK, you've got a lot to learn!"

"What-"

Nod placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her to the exit. "I love how ignorant you are."

"I don't-"

"It's adorable MK, really."

She huffed, shoving his chest and only felt a twinge of guilt when she remembered he was probably exhausted and bruised.

But if he was, Nod didn't show it. Instead, he laughed and rubbed his chest.

MK scoffed. "You're impossible."

* * *

"Welcome to my humble home."

MK walked into the hole high up in the tree they had climbed. It looked like a normal apartment room – like the one she had lived in with her mother, except it was made of bark and wood, and it smelled like Nod, like leaves.

She was standing in the living room. It had a shelf holding some knickknacks and a couch was sitting in the middle of the room made from leaves. A kitchen was attached to it, and there were two rooms, which MK assumed was a bedroom and a bathroom, but she couldn't be completely sure.

"It looks… cozy," MK said, venturing into it and plopping herself down on the coach. She was surprised at how comfortable the leaves were. "Wow!" she exclaimed, pressing her palms into it. "All this, from leaves?" she asked in surprise.

Nod just laughed. "Of course not. There's cotton and whatnot in there."

"Oh." That made sense. There were probably loads of cottonwood trees in the forest.

Nod scratched the back of his head. "Well I'm going to go get some water to clean up. You just make yourself comfortable." He disappeared into the kitchen area and came out with a large bucket made of wood that looked like it would be extremely heavy if it were to be filled with water.

MK eyed it. "Wouldn't it be heavy?" she voiced her thoughts.

Nod shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't have to carry it for long. The stream's not far from here, and I have a rope outside that'll get my water up for me."

MK just nodded, suddenly aware of how exhausted she was. "Okay," she yawed, leaning heavily into the couch. "Be back soon," she said, eyelids feeling heavy as she felt her body shut down into sleep. She hardly heard Nod laugh as she drifted off.

"MK."

"Ozzy… Ozzy stop licking me…"

"MK!" Something wet was on her arm and she swatted it away.

"Ozzy your tongue is cold…" she mumbled.

"_MK_!"

She shot up and her eyes darted to a confused looking Nod kneeling over her with a bucket of water in his hand. "W-what?" she yawned. "Where am I?"

Nod raised an eyebrow. "You're in my house."

"Wha- oh." MK rose, stretching. "Sorry I dozed off."

He shrugged. "You deserved it." Then he turned and motioned for her to follow as he led her into the bathroom. He set the bucket of water down in the middle of the room. "Here you can… clean yourself up." He gestured to the bucket.

MK looked down at her body, cringing at her mud caked clothes and she rubbed her arm in embarrassment at how gross she looked. She really didn't feel like changing back into it.

Nod seemed to notice and he blinked. "Oh! You can borrow some of my clothes… I guess."

MK felt shock surge through her. She had never worn a guy's clothes before. The girls in her school with boyfriends sometimes showed up wearing their boyfriend's hoodies and shirts. She never really cared or paid any mind to it, but now it was different. "Uh… okay."

"Yeah. Alright."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence fell between them until Nod suddenly cleared his throat, slipping out of the room and returning with a soft looking blue tunic and some brown trousers. "These are the smallest clothes I could find. Tomorrow we'll get some more… suitable clothing for you." He handed them to her. "I'll just… go." And he slipped out.

MK blinked, taking in the awkward situation before preparing herself for her bath.

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After about 10 minutes, she slipped out of the bathroom in Nod's clothes. His shirt was long and baggy on her, but it would do, and she had to roll his trousers down a few times so they would stay on her hips. She felt odd in his clothing, like she was one of those girls from school. But it was either this or her old clothes, and she preferred this.

She found Nod sitting on the couch with his Leafmen armor off leaving him in a green tunic that was rolled up to his elbows and dark green pants. He was slouched forward, his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He ran one hand tiredly over his face and MK felt a pang of guilt. He _did _look terrible, she hadn't lied about that earlier, and yet he had let her shower and clean up first when she was hardly harmed.

Swallowing guiltily as she saw the bruises and cuts littered across his face she slipped back into the bathroom and found a cloth laying on the sink-less vanity. She dipped it in the water and came out into the living room. "Hey," she called to him.

Nod looked up and his tired eyes flew to the cloth in her hands. "Hi," he croaked, then coughed before repeating, "Hi MK."

She sat down on the couch beside him and used her hand to guide his head towards her. "You _do _look terrible, you know," she said lightly as she examined one of the nastier looking cuts above his eyebrow. She pressed the cloth lightly against it, and he hissed.

"Watch it," he murmured.

"Sorry," MK grinned. She pulled the cloth away and saw the tiniest dab of pink on it. Then after a few more dabs she moved on to the cut on his noise. "You don't look nearly as bad as Ronin, but you still looked like you got pooped out of a rat."

Nod groaned. "Tell me about it," he replied. "I fell off one of the Boggon's bats."

MK snorted and pressed harder against the cut on his nose, which had reopened, and he gasped in pain. She muttered a sorry before saying, "I fell off a hummingbird."

Nod grinned. "Seriously?"

"Landed kind of gracefully though," she shrugged. Then she pulled away from her nose and pressed her cloth against a rather nasty looking gash on his chin that was still bleeding.

Nod moaned against her hold. "You're pretty bad at this."

She pressed harder in response to that, earning another moan. "Shut _up_ Nod. This is me caring about you."

"So you never cared about me before?"

She glared at him. "Seriously. You're the worst." She turned the cloth inside out so she could use the non-bloodied side and pressed it back against his chin. "Nod?"

"Yeah, Nurse MK?"

She ignored his taunt. "Since I'm one of you now… do I have to become a Leafwoman?"

He looked at her thoughtfully, at her big ember eyes concentrating on his wounds and how she was biting her lip in focus. "Not necessarily," he replied. "Most do. Some take up jobs like the Jinn, like clothes making and stuff."

"Oh," she murmured. "That's it?"

He hummed in thought. "Most non-Jinn who aren't Leafwomen or Leafmen work in the medical section."

"Like doctors?"

He looked at her quizzically. "I don't know what that is… but if these 'doctors' help out the sick and stuff, then yeah."

She smiled at him as she pulled the cloth away. "I guess I could do that… Become a medic for the Leafmen or something."

He looked at her in horror. "After what you just did to me? No way you-_ow_! Watch it, I was kid- _ow stop it_." He pulled away from her, rubbing at the bruise on his cheek. "See what I mean?"

MK rolled her eyes. "I only did that because I dislike you."

"You're a bully. Medics can't be biased to their patients."

MK just grinned cheekily at him, knowing he was joking. She made a move to rise and clean the blood off the cloth when Nod suddenly grabbed her hand. "Can I ask you something?" he asked quietly and gently.

MK, confused at the sudden change of mood, nodded and settled back into the couch.

Nod was looking intently at her. "If you could…" He chewed his lip, looking fidgety. "If you could… would you go back?"

MK blinked. "What do you mean?" she replied innocently. But she knew exactly what he meant.

"If you had the chance to become big again, would you?"

She frowned, folding her hands in her lap and staring at them. Her stomach twisted with guilt and she closed her eyes. "I don't know," she whispered. She felt something tingle behind her eyes and she squeezed them harder. "I don't know," she repeated.

Nod scooted closer to her and she felt his gaze on her.

"I can't go back, can I Nod?"

There was a moment of silence before he sighed. "I don't think so MK," he replied.

She nodded. The question was pointless anyways. She knew she couldn't go back. If it wasn't Tara's wish, it wasn't going to happen. Vaeda was still too inexperienced to even attempt to send her back into her normal form.

"I'm sorry."

She nodded again in silence, a single tear dripping onto her hands. "You know what Nod?" She looked up at him and saw that his eyes were filled with sorrow and heartbreak. "I really hope I don't get that chance."

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I could never choose between the two. Sure, I wanted to go back this morning. But… but how can I now after everything that's happened?" she asked. "I love my Dad. But I love the Jinn too. I love this world. I love Ronin, I love Vaeda, I love Grub and Mub, I love Nim Galuu, I love-" _you_. She stopped, then swallowed and quickly covered it up. "-being small and being able to jump to insane places." She looked more intently into Nod's eyes. "If I was given that chance to become big again, I'm scared I wouldn't know what to choose," she finished, feeling more tears brimming at the edge of her eyes.

"Oh MK," Nod whispered and he gathered her up in her arms. He felt her body shake with tears against his chest.

"I feel like a failed my dad, Nod," she choked. "Remember what I told you when we were going to get the pod back from Mandrake and the Boggons? My mom wanted me to be with my dad, and now I can't. I feel like I've failed my _mom _too. My _dead mom_."

Nod ran his hand over her hair. "MK…" but he trailed off, letting her continue.

"B-but if I went back I _know_ I'd be killing myself other leaving you guys. I feel so torn, I feel like I could have easily failed _both _of you."

"But you haven't, MK," he said and gently rocked them back and forth. "We love you here, and it's understandable if you want to go back. " He paused, then continued, " And your dad loves you. And I'm sure your mom does too. They'll never think you failed them because all you've done is given them what every parent wants-for you to be where you're meant to be."

She stopped her heaving breaths to take in what he said. "What do you mean?"

"Parents want only wants best for their kids, MK," he began. "And if you're meant to be here with us, your parents should be happy for you and know that this is what your life was laid out to be like."

She felt her shoulders lift with the weight that had dragged it down. He was _right_. Oh God, he was a _genius. _She looked up at him, giving him a smile as she felt her heart feel genuinely better. She was still heartbroken over her choice, but she felt better at his words. _I could kiss him right now. _Then she felt embarrassed at that thought, and looked away. "Thanks Nod," she whispered. "You're right."

He gave her a cocky grin, still managing to look attractive even with all those battle wounds on his face. "Always am," he joked.

MK leaned back into him, closing her eyes against his chest and listening to the rhythm of his beating heart. "Where'd you learn that?" she mumbled.

"What? That parents thing?"

"Yeah. There's no way you could have thought of that on your own, Dumbo."

She felt him chuckle. "Nice to know you have so much faith in my, M," he joked. "My dad told me," he suddenly said after a moment of silence and she felt her heart pang for his loss. "He always said he'd love me for whatever I became. He wanted to me to be a Leafman, of course. But he said that he loved me, and if my life was created for cleaning or picking up trash after the others then he had to accept that because I was his son."

MK paused, struggling to find the right words to say. How do you respond to something like that? "Your dad… your dad sounds… nice."

"He was."

MK's heart broke at the sound of hollowness in his voice and she pulled away from him to kiss him on the cheek. "He loved you," she whispered. "Don't forget that."

Nod just stared at her in understanding and smiled.

MK returned the smile before picking up the bloody cloth and throwing it at him. "Now go clean this cloth and yourself with it. You look like crap. Rat's crap."

Nod stood and stretched his sore muscles. "You've said that to me only a couple hundred times."

MK crossed her arms. "A medic's gotta make sure her patient knows what to do."

Nod just laughed before making his way to the washroom. "Thanks MK," he said before disappearing in to the bathroom.

MK grinned, pressing her face into Nod's shirt's sleeve. Nod made her feel… happy. He was kind, thoughtful, funny, not to mention good-looking, and she wanted to jump his bones every time she saw him. She felt like one of those girls at her school. And _God_, _he smells good_, she thought as she took a sniff of his sleeve. Then, embarrassed that she'd done that, she quickly tore her face from the sleeve and instead curled up on the couch, drifting to sleep to the memory of Nod's arms around her…

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**So that was really fluffy O_O I think I'll make this rating higher…**

**Hope you liked it! Keep reviewing and being awesome! *hugs you all***

**-BM**


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